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Arcanists
Arcanists is a turn-based strategy game. Players take turns to utilise one of sixteen spells, chosen by the player beforehand, in order to defeat their opponents. Members have many more spells, clothing, and abilities than a free player. How to Play Basics You play a wizard who can deploy various spells, most of which deal damage, protect you, or summon minions which you can then command. Each player starts with a life total of 250, and unless they have used a special ability (Soul Jar) will die when it hits zero. Playing the tutorial will help you to get the hang of movement, aiming, and firing, and is recommended before joining a multiplayer game. It is worth noting that you can customise your spell book: non-members and new players won't have access to the full range of spells, but can still benefit from examining the options available. You can also customise your appearance. Movement and Direction All of the basic movement actions have alternative keys. Note that these vary between the localised FunOrb sites, as assumptions are made about the keyboard layouts players on each site will be using. This table documents the keys for the English-language version: Note that Firefox users may wish to configure Backspace to not go back in their page history, as otherwise a loss of focus on the applet could result in the loss of a game. The mouse is used to target and fire most weapons. The cursor keys are used to look around the battlefield, although this will cause the camera to stop automatically following the active player or minion. On your turn N and C will loop through your team's minions and your Arcanist; on someone else's turn, C will centre on the active player and return the camera to auto-follow mode. Under certain circumstances, you may find yourself with the ability to fly, or controlling a flying minion. In this case high jump becomes movement upwards, and long jump becomes movement downwards. If your Arcanist has mounted a minion, you have to control the minion rather than the Arcanist. Sometimes, it can be difficult to jump from one location to the next if your character is facing the wrong way, as turning around may mean you fall from where you are standing. To change direction without moving, choose a weapon and target it in the direction you wish to face. Rating A player's rating is a measure of that player's success in rated games. It starts at 1000, and increases or decreases when a player wins or loses a rated game. Since non-members cannot play rated games, their rating cannot change: in consequence, a player who has never subscribed will have a rating of 1000. Wands Wands are like a form of currency in Arcanists, and can be used to buy spells at a rate of 5 wands to unlock a spell book (gaining all its level 1 spells) and 2 or 3 respectively for level 2 and level 3 spells. Like rating, they can be gained only in rated games, and so are available only to members. In general, players get one wand for winning a game, and one more wand for each of the awards they achieved. However, players with prestige hats can only win wands while their rating is above a certain level, and players who leave the game before the end will not receive their wands. Game Modes There are two styles of game: team and free-for-all (FFA). Although nothing prevents people from forming informal teams in an FFA game, the handling of turn order between the two styles has an important difference. In FFA the turn cycles through the players, but in team games it alternates between the teams and so offsets a lot of the advantage which would otherwise be gained by eliminating a player from the opposing team. A team game requires an even number of players: the top half of the list of players form the red team and the bottom half form the blue team. If the host of an unrated game starts it with an odd number of players then regardless of the style setting it will be an FFA game. Awards At the end of a game, certain awards are given out to the players who did certain things during the match. Players may get wands even if they lost by getting awards. As a general rule, more awards are given in long games with multiple opponents. Note that the meaning of the awards has not been officially published, and so is intelligent speculation for the most part. Spells On your turn, a spell bar at the bottom of your screen shows which spells you have available. Unavailable spells in your spellbook will be shaded out. Some spells can be used a limited number of times, or must be charged for a certain number of turns before they can be used. Hovering the mouse over a spell will display its name and description and, where relevant, the number of charges remaining and turns remaining for it to charge. Spells have three levels: *Level 1 - These spells are available as soon as you purchase the respective spellbook, which costs 5 wands. They are found on the left hand side of the spellbook. Each book has 5 spells at this level. *Level 2 - These spells cost 2 wands each, and you must also have the corresponding level 1 spell in your spell list in order to use them. The corresponding spell will be exactly on the opposite side of the book. Each book has 5 spells at this level, each corresponding to their own level 1 spell. *Level 3 - These spells cost 3 wands each, and you must use 5 other spells from the same spellbook in order to use them. They are usually single-use; the exceptions are Comet and Storm. The Arcane spellbook has seven level 1 and five level 2 spells. Ball Spells Balls are projectiles which follow a parabolic trajectory. They are generally among the basic spells in a spellbook. Weapons are aimed and fired with the mouse; the weapon's velocity is controlled by how long the left mouse button is held. Balls explode (or, in a few cases, have another effect) at the point of their first impact with the terrain, an Arcanist, or a minion. If they fall into water or leave the playing area to the left or right then they have no effect. Bomb Spells Bombs behave similarly to balls, except they bounce instead of exploding on impact. They explode after 5 seconds. Bombs can be very useful for enemies which are at the bottom of a pit, especially as many bombs have a cluster effect. They can be difficult to use against enemies who do not have obstacles close to them. Arrows Arrows are essentially homing ball attacks. These spells are excellent at damaging opponents at a distance and can be very accurate when used correctly. However, these attacks curve, which can make their direction difficult to predict without practice, and will be stopped by any obstacle. Players must first click the homing target, and then fire the spell as with the ball spells. These spells are often fired at full power upwards, to allow the arrow to curve over the top of the landscape. Arrows follow a three-stage flight pattern. First, the spell flies in a parabolic arc. Second, the arrow makes a circular arc, changing its course to fly directly at the target. Third, it goes straight towards the target. Most arrows have a turning circle with diameter approximately the width of 20 Arcanists. Arcane Arrow, however, has a turning circle diameter of about 3 people, making it the only arrow spell to be able to "turn on a dime". If, for some reason, the arrow does not strike anything when it reaches its target, it will curve back, making a circle back to the target. It will do this several times, with a bit of variation, until the arrow loses its energy. At this point, it reverts to a parabolic trajectory. Bolts Bolts are similar to firearms: they are aimed in one direction and always fire at a set power with a number of shots, normally around 10. They are aimed and fired with the mouse. Some care is required as shots may damage you if you stand too close: in this case, you will usually cease firing. Enemies may be knocked away mid-shot with these spells, so it is advisable to back them against a piece of scenery. Arena Spells These spells affect the arena in some way. No aiming is required for them. Targeted Spells These spells are not directed from your character. Instead, they come from the terrain, for example, from the sky or the water. For this reason, they are very useful for players hiding in an enclosed space, as they do not require any line of sight from the player, although they may require a line of sight from somewhere else (for example, attacks from the sky can be blocked by scenery above the player). These spells usually either fire ball of some sort, or something similar. Personal Spells These spells affect the player that casts them. They are often some kind of defence against attacks. All personal spells, with the exception of Lichdom are cancelled, when they enter the aura of a Sanctuary. Also, all shields are destroyed if their owner falls into the water or off the side of the playing area. Minions Minions are creatures that you summon to aid you in different ways. Control of these creatures is cycled by using the N or C keys. Minions are moved in the same manner as your Arcanist, although some have limited abilities (for example, many giants cannot jump very well). Minions will generally have a limited move-set consisting of 1-4 moves, which may use ammunition from your Arcanist's spells. Some minions are capable of transporting their owner or certain other minions belonging to their owner. To mount such a minion it suffices to bring the rider and the mount into contact by moving either of them. To move the pair, the mount should be controlled. To dismount, use a jump - generally a long jump, as a high jump will usually result in landing on the mount again. A mounted minion will take damage in place of its rider; however, the rider may be knocked off of a mount by a strong impact. Most minions become zombified when killed by death damage. For more information, see below. Most minion summoning spells have a recharge time of 5 turns. However, some stronger minions have one use only, and Brine Goblins can be summoned every turn. Towers Towers render the Arcanist immobile. They have a limited amount of health of their own, which is added to that of the player for display purposes. This is the only way to make your Arcanist appear to reach HP of over 250. When damage is dealt to an Arcanist in a tower the tower's health is depleted rather than the Arcanist's; when the tower's health reaches 0, the tower vanishes. If more damage is dealt by a single source (e.g. a single flame of napalm) than is needed to destroy the tower, the surplus damage is not carried over to the Arcanist. Towers are damaged by the Quake spell, and many spells from the Book of Stone have increased damage against towers. Pressing any jump key will cause you to leave your tower. Note that although selecting Arcane Gate while in a tower will give a large targeting circle, the Arcane Tower is the only one which you can take with you when gating. Damage Types Many damage-dealing spells affect all Arcanists and minions equally, but others have special effects. Maps Arcanists features 8 distinct maps to fight in: one for beginners, and one each for every spellbook except Seas and Arcane. 1. Grasslands These green slopes are where all young Arcanists train to become great mages. All that can be found here is a clean battleground in which to test your skills. Armageddon Spell: None 2. Giants' Mountains Steep slopes and rugged terrain. Stay here too long and the volcanoes will erupt! Armageddon Spell: Volcano 3. Elven Isles These living islands offer much in the way of places to hide, but watch out, as the ancient magics guarding the area will start raining comets down! Armageddon Spell: Comet 4. Goblin Caves The dank caves of the goblins are a common battleground. Intense mining has disturbed the deep and the ground is liable to erupt from under your feet! Armageddon Spell: Fissure 5. Murky Swamp Amid the witches' huts and rotten trees, Arcanists battle to control the arcane sources of magic within the swamp. Keep hidden, as the high concentration of power draws storms in from afar. Armageddon Spell: Storm 6. Graveyard The gentle slopes of the graveyard are covered with the remains of past Arcanists who have failed in this arena. Evil spirits haunt this place, sending bolts of pure chaos down onto anyone who disturbs them. Armageddon Spell: Rain of Chaos 7. Sky Castles The angels of the sky have opened their heavenly gates to allow Arcanists to engage in battle between their castles in the clouds. Choose your tower and allies carefully to achieve victory in this realm. Armageddon Spell: Sky Ray Note: This map might be based on the Castle Wars minigame in RuneScape, Jagex's other gaming site. 8. Mos Le'Harmless Make your way to the islands of Mos Le'Harmless to get your hands on some 'rum', but watch out for the monkeys - they might just rain on your parade. Armageddon Spell: Monkey (not a spell from any spellbook, but based on the Book of Nature) Note: This map is based on an island in RuneScape of the same name. Prestige Hats Prestige hats are an optional series of icons which players can earn after purchasing all spells. The spells are traded in for a prestige hat, and the player is left with the initial spell sets (most of the arcane and flame books). They have to repurchase the lost spells with more wands. Each Prestige hat makes gaining wands more difficult. To make sure players don't accidentally buy prestige hats and lose all their spells, you must hold 'CTRL' and then click the buy button (right) before you can actually buy the hat. Spellbooks There is a total of 108 spells, 47 level one, 45 level two and 16 level three spells. Each spellbook has: 5 Level one spells (Arcane has 7) 5 Level two spells 2 Level three spells (Arcane has none) *Arcane Book *Book of Flame *Book of Stone *Book of Storm *Book of Frost *Book of Underdark *Book of Overlight *Book of Nature *Book of Seas Tactics Many different kinds of tactics exist for Arcanists. Some are very quick, others rely on slowly eroding your opponent's health over a long time. *'Mega Boulder' is capable of doing 175 damage in one turn when used skilfully, with a bit of luck. It is available earlier than many other highly-damaging spells. It may be helpful to combine it with Mud Ball to keep your opponent where he is as the explosions happen nearby. *'Chain Lightning' can also work as an equivalent to Mega Boulder, and it is best used with Mud Ball. *Climbing on your opponent's head can often be used to open up a number of tactics, and prevent them from moving. Minions can also be used for this. The only downside is they might have the spell Vine Whip or Arcane Flash. *'Flight' can be used very effectively if you are lucky enough to get the first turn. Fly above your opponent when you can use Ice Shards to deal a quick 75 damage, or Mud Ball to trap them. Once trapped, a number of tactics can be used; Aura of Decay can force opponents to teleport and Chain Lightning can sometimes deal huge amounts of damage. *'Water Ball' explodes on impact, but the water droplets keep going. You can cast Ice Shield, then fire the water ball at the shield; the ball will scatter, having a high chance to hit your opponent. However, it can leave you open to a bomb or arrow spell, as the spell leaves an opening in the shield. *A Water Lord starts out with 500 health, the most of any minion. Once you have it summoned, some people use Dark Defences to heal them back up to full health. * Hurricane Sometimes vine whip and arcane flash don't do the pushing'*' off job. Hurricane has a 99.9% chance of blowing them to the watery depths of the ocean sea. (*''' Means pushing into the water). *'''Lichdom Note: Only use when you are pretty sure no one has any Overlight spells. Lichdom is extremely helpful taking down non-light arcanists. You are surrounded by an Aura of decay, dealing 15 damage to your foes if they are touched by you. Raise Dead and Aura of Decay heal liches, too. Also, the aura of, but not the explosion from a death bomb will heal liches. The explosion, however, will hurt them. Liches collect half of the damage they do each time. So, one good tactic is to stand next to you opponent and use Aura of Decay or, if it isn't charged, Raise Dead. Wraiths and zombies act like liches in all ways, except for the portable aura of decay, so sometimes a lich and a wraith or zombie dark knight can work together very well. Suggested Move Sets Survivor Set This set is for people who wish to wait out the battle, and let their teammates do the damage. Or, you can ask your teammates to summon a powerful minion, such as a dragon, which then can then use. Or, if your are the last standing, an Armageddon Spell might be able to kill your opponent. *'Book of Stone' This set is highly recommended if you are a defensive player. *Arcane Book - Arcane Gate - An irreplaceable move that is needed for all sets. *Underdark Book - Den of Darkness - A terrific defensive move, espeically if used with protection shield, that is great for surviving over long periods of time, especially because the castle heals 30 castle hp per turn. *Underdark Book - '''Drain Bolt' - A great move for using on multiple foes after just using Resilent Familiar, great for using when trapped in spaces with enemies *Book of Overlight - Sphere of Healing - The Sphere is a great move for when you are hiding away from your foes, or you can use it when your foes are hiding, as it will surely annoy your opponents. Substitute:Protection Shield *Book of Flame - Flame Shield - It's very helpful at blowing away incoming objects such as : Mega Boulders, Blizzards and more. This is a very important thing to have in any survivor set. *Book of Overlight - Castle of Light - This could be helpful for long-range surviving. It will heal you 10 hitpoints per turn and holds 75 hitpoints. So after 5 turns you have earnt 50 hitpoints by selecting Castle of Light. "Long-range" Set This set is mostly for hiding and making it impossible for your opponents to damage you, and then using minions and targeted spells. While this spell set does not use any level spells, it takes advantage of your opponents weaknesses. Since there are twenty-eight spells listed here, you will need to pick the best combination of them. *Towers: Den of Darkness, Castle of Light, Fortress, Ice Castle, and Sanctuary. - The first two castles heal either themselves or you, Fortress has lots of health, and the last two are rechargeable (Ice castle can be healed from moves such as Blizzard and Snow ball, from the Book of Frost). *Shields: Ice Shield, Wind Shield, Protection Shield, Fire Shield, Healing Sphere, Arcane Gate - Deflect your opponents attacks away to who-knows-where. Or, teleport '''yourself' far away.'' *Minions: Cyclops, Frost Giant + Slyph (These both make snow, which can heal your ice castle), Man-trap, Paladin, or Swarm + Dark Knight. - While you hide in your tower, you can send some of these minions to do the damage. *Targeted: Rain of Fire/Arrows/Chaos, Blizzard, Sky Ray, Shooting Star, Aura of Decay, Deluge, Maelstrom, and English Summer. - Send attacks on top of or beneath your opponent from a distance. Achievements Secret Achievement Trivia *Arcanists was voted players' favourite FunOrb game in a RuneScape Poll. *Once a player has played 501 games the ratings menu will no longer accurately count; it will instead say 500+ *Many things have been changed: **In the earlier days of Arcanists, a common tactic was to build a castle directly on top of your opponent's head. **Death Bombs used to deal Death damage. **Arcanists with Shining Power used to not lose their ability to fly when hit. **Soul Jars used to be reusable: once you had died and been reanimated by your jar, it was reset to level 0 and you could build it up to level 5 again. This has now been reduced to a maximum of five uses. **When familiars were introduced, napalm used to be able to deal 210 damage with a fully charged familiar. 42 napalms were fired until 16 July 2008, after which the number was reduced to 18. **Players used to be able to stand on another player and fire napalm directly onto their enemy for a total of 60 damage. Now if they attempt this the first one they fire will harm them and cause them to stop firing. **Headbombing (where a player could fire a bomb directly downward into another Arcanist) was reduced in power on 16 July 2008. Bombs are now fired from the Arcanist, instead of a point just in front of it. Some players still use it, although mainly in unrated games.but many of them stop using this technique because usually it does more damage to themselves to the opponent **It was possible to zombify an Arcanist under certain circumstances, although as this was a bug and not an intended feature, control was limited. **In the earlier days it was also a common tactic to use vine bridges while using flight, it was common to those who wanted to trap a player in any situation or create a ramp to send a bomb down. Category:Multi-player Games Category:Original Games Category:Strategy Games Category:Arcanists Category:All Games de:Arkanisten fr:Arcanistes